Missing
by KoreNestis
Summary: Based upon a Tumblr prompt, kind of ties in with 'Magpie.' The gang worries about their Inquisitor as they wait out a storm; told from Varric's POV.


**Where: **Blizzard in Emprise du Lion

**Why?: **Looking for Samson; clearing red Templar camps

**Inquisitor: **Ellayria Lavellan, elven mage, specializes in lightning magic. Kind, gentle, thinks more of others than herself, sometimes too naïve and trusting.

**Who?: **Cole, Varric, Iron Bull.

Varric pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn it Kid, will you stop pacing?"

"_No._"

They hadn't seen Inquisitor Lavellan in hours, and Cole had been a wreck the entire time. They were in Emprise du Lion, on the hunt of the red templar bastard named Samson (whom Curly seemed to have some personal beef with) when some of his lackeys had ambushed them. Normally they were pretty on form and could have demolished their enemies quite easily, but they were all sleep deprived and grouchy from traveling to this Maker forsaken part of Orlais. Well _every _part of Orlais was damned according to the storytelling dwarf, but that was all a matter in opinion.

He couldn't remember much (being a tad hungover didn't help in the ensuing fight), but he knew he had a lump the size of Bull's ass on his forehead, lots of gory explosions- partly from the templar's growing more powerful from the lyrium, partly from getting smashed from Bull's hammer, another part due to Cole creeping up and slitting their throats from behind- and he almost slid and fell on his stocky posterior due to the ice. And when they had the chance to brush themselves off afterwards (and try and fail to get all the blood off), Ellayria was nowhere to be found. Cole had immediately begun to panic, his blue eyes huge and somewhat dilated as he ran around, looking under every boulder and behind every tree. Varric had patted him on the back and said, comfortingly, "Don't worry so much, Kid, we'll find her."

And then the blizzard happened. He fucking hated Orlais. Bull had had to physically pick up the blond boy and throw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes to find shelter; he refused to give up searching, and kicked and punched the giant Qunari the entire time. "_I can't hear her! Let me go!" _he'd yelled.

They'd blessedly found the cave and Varric had attempted starting a fire, ignoring his pounding headache; he rubbed the sticks again, and found a moment of happiness when it sparked and a little flame started going. The moment passed when it fizzled out. _Fuck._

Bull leaned against the entrance to the cave, his arms crossed and a leg pushing back against the stone. He was there to be lookout, and also to ensure Cole stayed in. The boy had fallen into a sullen silence, clutching some book to his chest and glaring at the two of them from time to time. It didn't matter _what _they said to try and soothe him; that she had been through much worse before, she was a more than capable mage, they had camps out there and agents who could find her. Nothing was working. Varric had smiled and asked once, in a friendly tone, what the book was. Cole responded with a flare of his nostrils, and, "She gave it to me to write my thoughts in. Before you abandoned her. It is _cold, _wind blistering and biting, and red monsters prowl in the snow." He jumped to his feet, staring down at the dwarf, whom he had always been very fond of, and demanded, "_Why did you leave her out there?"_

Varric sighed in exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose. Damn this headache; Cole was not making it any better. He never regretted agreeing with Ellayria that Cole should grow and become more human, though the young man still had trouble controlling these new emotions he was experiencing. "Why don't you write about how you're feeling right now while we wait for her?" _And stop yelling at me about it._

"No," Cole had said simply, sitting back down and resuming his sulking, facing the cave entrance. He clutched the journal like it was a life preserver. Varric exchanged glances with Bull, who rolled his eyes and shook his head. _Gotta love young love. _The dwarf stroked the crossbow beside him thoughtfully, and sighed again. He couldn't stay mad at the kid; he was still very new to all of this. And while he and the kind, sweet natured Dalish Inquisitor had been attached to each other from the start, Varric had noticed that after becoming more human, they got…closer. He was proud of them both, and hated that all they could do in the present circumstance was wait and worry. He could understand the anxiety of being away from someone you cared for dearly. _I hope she's all right out there. _He tried, halfheartedly, to start another fire. The little flame almost puttered out again, but stayed strong and began to flicker higher upward.

"Well, there's that at least," he muttered to himself; he heard Bull chuckle.

Cole abruptly leapt to his feet, his eyes far off and staring out of the cave. Varric knew from all the time he had spent with the once spirit that he was not looking, but _listening._

"There she is," he breathed, and his anxious face cracked open in relief, his mouth spreading in pure joy.


End file.
